Chinese Idiom - 嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗

vann0000

February 14, 2009, 12:01 AM posted in General Discussion

嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗 - Follow the man you marry, be he a cock or dog.

In ancient, China arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers were the rule. A woman had no right to choose her husband, no freedom to love a man of her own choice. As a matter of fact, many girls did not meet their fiancés until the wedding day when their wedding veil was lifted by the bridegroom.

In the idiom, the “fowl/cock” and “cur/dog” refer to different kinds of men.

It means that whoever your husband is, whether he is good or bad, a girl has no alternative but to live with the man obediently for the rest of her life. There is a connotation of helplessness on the part of the married woman. Life has changed a great deal since then. When people use this idiom today, they do it half jokingly.

Examples
① A: Life was really a misery for women in ancient China, for even if they were badly treated by their husbands they had no alternative but to bear with them. B: This is called “follow the man you marry, be he a cock or dog”. Fortunately, today’s women enjoy much more freedom.

② A: Your husband is just an ordinary office clerk and he treats you so badly. Why don’t you divorce him?
B: Well, “follow the man you marry, be he a cock or dog”. As the children are already so big, I will just put up with him.

中国古代盛行“包办婚姻”。女人没有自主的权利，不能自由恋爱，很多女孩子常常是举行婚礼时才见到自己未来的丈夫。   
“嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗”这个俗语中的鸡、狗是指各种各样的人。这句话的意思是说，不管结婚对象好还是不好，女人都没有选择的余地，都要顺从地跟对方过一辈子。这里面有无可奈何的意思。  现代人的生活有了很大的变化，现在人们说这句话的时候也有半开玩笑的意思。
例句
① A：古代的女子真是不幸，即使丈夫对她不好也只能忍受。
B：这叫嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗，想想现在的人真是自由多了。
② A：你的丈夫不过是个普通的小职员，还对你这么不好，你怎么不跟他分手呢？ B：唉，嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗。孩子们都这么大了，凑合着过吧

Though Chinese Today are more open, but they still regard family as an important thing in life.